Vietnam to defend fifth national report on anti-racial discrimination convention:A literacy class in Gia Lai province. (Photo: VNA)

On November 23, the information was released at a conference held by the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) in Hanoi to provide monthly updates about human rights and external information affairs.

Tran Chi Mai, Deputy Director of the International Cooperation Department at the Government’s Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs, said that joining CERD in 1982, Vietnam has successfully defended the national reports on the CERD implementation four times, in 1983, 1993, 2000 and 2012.

The report defence is a chance for the country to introduce its achievements in human rights protection along with the Party and State’s viewpoints and policies on ethnic minorities and foreigners in Vietnam. This will help refute slander and distortions of hostile forces and also enhance the mutual understanding between Vietnam and the international community, she noted.

The fifth national report covers legislative, administrative and judicial measures and the implementation results of those measures taken during 2013 - 2019 to protect human rights and fight acts of racial discrimination against ethnic minority people and foreigners in Vietnam.

The report also presents the country’s achievements in protecting human rights for ethnic minorities and foreigners, points out difficulties and advantages in the CERD implementation during the reviewed period, and identifies implementation orientations for the time ahead, Deputy Director Mai said.

Elaborating on the report’s content, she said it affirms that the Vietnamese Party and Government’s consistent viewpoint and policy on ethnic minority groups as enshrined in Article 5 of the 2013 Constitution completely match Article 1 on racial discrimination prevention in the CERD.

The report shares the country’s attainments in ethnic minority affairs since 2013. During 2013 - 2019, Vietnam obtained many remarkable results in promoting the great national solidarity and assisting ethnic minority groups in socioeconomic development, poverty reduction, and preservation of their traditional values, languages, and scripts.

It also stresses Vietnam’s commitment to exercising the rights and obligations of a CERD member state by highlighting the country’s achievements in aligning its legal system with international standards and protecting the universal values on human rights, as well as Vietnam’s efforts to help eliminate all forms of racial discrimination, according to the official.